Fruit pickers need better pay

Fruit growers will have to pay pickers more if they want to entice more workers into jobs, the Immigration Minister says.

A shortage of backpackers willing to take up casual work this season is threatening to derail the harvest of apples, kiwifruit and grapes around the country.

Those industries are urging the government to allow more workers from the Pacific to cope with the shortage.

But Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said that would not help growers who needed more workers right now.

“Immigration is of course part of the solution but they probably need to have a look at things like pay rates and conditions of the work. Paying more and offering better conditions is part of the solution,” he said.

The apple, grape and kiwifruit industries all reported a shortage of backpackers willing to take up seasonal work.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers chief executive Nikki Johnston said she was “very concerned” there would not be enough backpackers to help with the harvest, with a record crop expected at the end of the month.